Cat has started biting

We adopted Sparky nearly three weeks ago. At first she was very timid and wasn't interested in playing. We slowly encouraged her to play and now she does. She goes crazy for my dressing gown cord or a mouse that is on the end of a string. She pounces a lot and her pupils dilate a lot. She has also started running around the flat like a loony. 

Since the weekend just gone she has started biting. Previously she let us pick her up but now she bites if you do. Last night my husband picked her up and she dug her teeth in so hard he bled. Then this morning he was playing with her using the dressing gown cord which she grabs and bites. He then put his hand near her to stroke her (letting her smell his hand) and she bit him. This is the third time she bit him. She has also gone to bit me a couple of times when I have had my hand near her but I have pulled mine away (I have had cats before but hubby hasn't). 

Thinking about it she has also bitten a bit. When we first got her she went to bite my Dad when he was stroking her but we thought it was because he was being a bit rough. She did the same with my father in law when he touched her back legs. She also does it if you are stroking her head and then go near her back, she will nip you (or kick you out of the way with her back claw which is fine). What can we do to stop this wild behaviour?

get her to a vet first to rule out any medical reasons, it sounds to me she got hurt. does she only bites when you touch her back or back legs?

She had a check up three weeks ago before she left the cats protection and has been indoors since then. Is it likely she could have been hurt when only inside? 

No she also bit my husband when he picked her up and this morning when he put his hand in front of her to let her sniff it after they had just finished playing (in which she bites and claws her toys)

it possible, did you heard anything? 

mwallace056 said:

 
it possible, did you heard anything? 

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Sorry what do you mean? As in did I hear her bash something?

yeah did you hear her fall or something? 

she still play without any problems?

Hi there and welcome,

How old is she? Do you know anything about her past at all?

mwallace056 said:

 
she still play without any problems?

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Yeah she is. In fact playing more that normal. Haven't heard her fall or anything. 

KittyWhiskers said:

Hi there and welcome,

How old is she? Do you know anything about her past at all?

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She is 8.5 years old. Sadly don't know much about her past. Just that she was put up for adopted because her owner moved somewhere where they couldn't have pets. She was with a tom cat called spooks who used to dominate her and so cats protection separated them. Maybe that is what he used to do to her?

maybe she not hurt, but i would still take to a vet to rule out any health reasons

mwallace056 said:

 
maybe she not hurt, but i would still take to a vet to rule out any health reasons

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Thanks, ok will get her to the vet

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/when-physical-problems-turn-into-behavior-problems

Was she with a foster family? How long was she with them and did they mention anything about her biting?
I know from experience that some cats just don't like to be picked up. I have one like that.
It's not easy to know why some cats bite when you know nothing about their past, weather something has happened to set them off.
I think what I would do would be to not try and pick her up and to try and get her more used to being touched I would use a toy such as the stick with feathers on the end. When playing you could gently run it over her head and down her back just so she can get used to the sensation. It could also be that she gets over stimulated very quickly.
We currently care for a stray who will bite for no reason and he has got so much better since we started playing with him. He tends to get over stimulated very quick, we watch for his tail. If it starts swishing we step away.
I think given time and love and realizing she is in her forever home she will start to relax more.

We adopted our three from The Cats Protection too.

Good luck!

KittyWhiskers said:

Was she with a foster family? How long was she with them and did they mention anything about her biting?
I know from experience that some cats just don't like to be picked up. I have one like that.
It's not easy to know why some cats bite when you know nothing about their past, weather something has happened to set them off.
I think what I would do would be to not try and pick her up and to try and get her more used to being touched I would use a toy such as the stick with feathers on the end. When playing you could gently run it over her head and down her back just so she can get used to the sensation. It could also be that she gets over stimulated very quickly.
We currently care for a stray who will bite for no reason and he has got so much better since we started playing with him. He tends to get over stimulated very quick, we watch for his tail. If it starts swishing we step away.
I think given time and love and realizing she is in her forever home she will start to relax more.

We adopted our three from The Cats Protection too.

Good luck!

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Thanks :-)

She was in the national cat centre so was looked after there rather than being with a foster family. I think it is only the national cat centre that have the pens like that. I am starting to think that she is still just nervous but is now using aggression to show it as she still does run away if you move too quickly etc. 

I also agree that she might be overstimulated. She is worse when we have been playing with her loads and is in attack mode. Or if we have been petting her too much. Is the swishing tail the only sign? Currently trying to teach hubby what her body language means!

When you have had a playtime it might be worth ending with a treat or a meal to calm her down so that she thinks she has caught her "prey".

I think you may find this link useful, it has lots of articles about cat behaviour and how to understand why they do the things they do.

http://www.thecatsite.com/atype/43/Cat_Behavior

I'm certain she will settle given time. :nod:

Hi again,
Was just wondering how thing's were going with Sparky?

She's ok. Still bites when she gets excited and wants to play or if you over do the petting. But we know her signals now and when to stop!

It's great to hear that she is doing ok. At least now you are recognising the signs and know when to stop. Our stray boy has got so much better with his biting, hubby was playing with him the other day and he went for his hand but instead of biting down he just held hubbys hand in his mouth like he knew he wasn't supposed to do it. I'm sure they don't mean to be nasty but they just can't help it. We have never dealt with a 'biter' before him so we are still learning too.
All the best.

Hi Jenni- just read your post with great interest. I once had a tabby girl from a very young age onwards (in fact I saw her being born and handled her often when I visited so by the time she came home to me,she had already bonded with me and settled in within hours) but she was a biter.We never really knew why only that she did it if over excited. She never grew out of it.I've heard somewhere that tabby cats have more of a tendency to bite as they have more of an inbred 'wild streak' in them.Not sure if there's any real evidence of this.